Dirty Laundry
by VimesBeast
Summary: Whatever happened to Lassie's shirt after he spilled tapioca on it? Tag to Lassie did a Bad Bad Thing. Pre-Slash


**Title: ****Dirty Laundry**

Author: VimesBeast

Pairing: Shawn/Lassiter

Rating: K+

Genre: Romance/Friendship

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**A/Notes:**** My second piece of fanfic and my first attempt at slash. I hope Shawn isn't too OOC, he's hard to characterize. This plot came to me when I was pressing the various blouses and dress shirts my family owns, I hope the story makes sense to you. I'm not a native English speaker and I don't have a beta, all mistakes are mine. **

**Dirty Laundry**

Shawn doesn't like doing chores. It's tiring, tedious and lonely work, and Shawn avoids it as best as he can. And of all the household cleaning activities, Shawn hates doing laundry the most. He simply detests the complexity of it all. Wash this particular shirt in cold water only or feel it lose its flexibility; do not tumble dry that sweater unless you want it to shrink; do not bleach those pants or see it turn a shade pink; dry clean that jacket in case you ruin its zipper in your washer... In short, dirty laundry intimidates Shawn, so he usually just waits for Gus to take care of it.

But this is Lassie's shirt he is currently looking at. And Lassie probably can't wait until next Saturday to get his favorite shirt back.

Shawn didn't know how Lassie's shirt ended up in his hamper at first. But after another closer look, he noticed that it's the shirt Lassie spilled Gus's tapioca on. Lassie had changed into one of Shawn's shirts and left his own at the Psych office. Then Shawn had collected it along with his own overnight clothes from the office and brought it back to the apartment.

There is a lot you can tell about a person by looking at his clothes. Lassie's shirt for example, tells Shawn that Lassie is a classy man who hides a romantic personality under his gruff exterior. Shawn had groped Lassie enough to know that his suits are cheap and easily substitutable, a sensible choice for someone whose occupation involves getting their clothes soiled with GSR, dirt and blood. Lassie's dress shirt though, is all cotton and silk, and tailored to fit his long limbs. No wonder the man can work 14-hour shifts without wanting to tear his clothes off. Lassie knows how to make himself comfortable! Lassie's shirt also screams solitude to Shawn. The loose buttons on the front say that Lassie hadn't had a lady in his life for a while. At least one who cares enough for him to notice the buttons.

Shawn had planned to return the shirt directly after laundering it, but the loose buttons were nagging him. So he fixed them. Shawn had mastered button sewing long ago, thanks to all the practice he had on his clothes after spending some wild nights with eager ladies. A second look at that shirt and the perfectionist in him decided that he couldn't give it back without smoothing out the wrinkles first. And that was why Shawn is now ironing Lassie's dress shirt.

Shawn maneuvered the iron around the buttons, making sure to flatten out all the creases. Then he took extra care with the folds in the back so that they are straight and parallel. When Shawn was finally done, he hung up the shirt to admire his work. He had never paid so much attention to a piece of clothing before, and somehow the fact that Lassiter is going to wear this shirt made Shawn immensely proud.

Lassie is wearing the shirt _Shawn ironed_ to work!  
>Lassie is wearing the shirt Shawn ironed to represent his <em>authority<em> at the _SBPD_!

Shawn wondered if Lassie would know how sarcastic this is.  
>Shawn wondered if Lassie would appreciate his work.<p>

And most of all, Shawn wondered if Lassie would think of Shawn with this shirt on his back, and if he would think of him fondly.

Shawn could see it. Lassie would dress in front of the mirror and notice that the buttons are fixed. Then he would scrutinize himself in the reflection looking for imperfections and he would find none. Then Lassie would smile, and it would be because of Shawn. God, Shawn would give anything to be there to see his pretty eyes light up.

Suddenly, Shawn finds that he doesn't mind ironing the detective's shirt. In fact he would be glad to. Perhaps he could convince Lassie to let him do all his laundry, Shawn lives at a laundromat after all. Then maybe, just maybe, someday Shawn's efforts would earn him entrance to the detective's bedroom, and he could wake up to Lassie smiling at him in his freshly pressed shirt.


End file.
